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Apparently Marc Jacobs Created Bantu Knots…Except He Didn’t

To find out how I feel about cultural appropriation, please see my post about Kylie Jenner and her lips. I don’t have the strength. By the way, that article got a lot of people riled up (check the comments).

But just for the heck of it, and so that everybody is very clear, here’s a little history on Bantu Knots via Atlanta Black Star:

Bantu is a colonial word used to describe Zulu people. The word was used to identify African people who spoke the Bantu dialect. The word Bantu does not refer to one group of people, rather over 10 million Africans of Zulu descent who speak the Bantu dialect. This is why Bantu Knots are also referred to as Zulu Knots. Zulu, as in African people, as in not Marc Jacobs. Bantu Knots have been worn by Black women as a way to protect and style their hair since the beginning of civilization. Below is a picture of a Madagascan woman rocking Bantu Knots circa 1898.

Bantu is NOT a Colonial WORD. Bantu is a language spoken by most populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. To say it’s colonial is saying that the British invented the word. There are about 650 Bantu languages spoken by Zulu Tribes.